The LINKS motif zippers trans-acyltransferase polyketide synthase assembly lines into a biosynthetic megacomplex.

Polyketides such as the clinically-valuable antibacterial agent mupirocin are constructed by architecturally-sophisticated assembly lines known as trans-acyltransferase polyketide synthases. Organelle-sized megacomplexes composed of several copies of trans-acyltransferase polyketide synthase assembly lines have been observed by others through transmission electron microscopy to be located at the Bacillus subtilis plasma membrane, where the synthesis and export of the antibacterial polyketide bacillaene takes place. In this work we analyze ten crystal structures of trans-acyltransferase polyketide synthases ketosynthase domains, seven of which are reported here for the first time, to characterize a motif capable of zippering assembly lines into a megacomplex.

Rapid modification of the pET-28 expression vector for ligation independent cloning using homologous recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The ability to rapidly customize an expression vector of choice is a valuable tool for any researcher involved in high-throughput molecular cloning for protein overexpression. Unfortunately, it is common practice to amend or neglect protein targets if the gene that encodes the protein of interest is incompatible with the multiple-cloning region of a preferred expression vector. To address this issue, a method was developed to quickly exchange the multiple-cloning region of the popular expression plasmid pET-28 with a ligation-independent cloning cassette, generating pGAY-28.

A close look at a ketosynthase from a trans-acyltransferase modular polyketide synthase.

The recently discovered trans-acyltransferase modular polyketide synthases catalyze the biosynthesis of a wide range of bioactive natural products in bacteria. Here we report the structure of the second ketosynthase from the bacillaene trans-acyltransferase polyketide synthase. This 1.